Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Izzy goes on DL after arm/elbow Injury

Brian Blanco / AP

It was the top of the ninth inning when Jason Isringhausen took the mound in a game where he was going to get some extra work and did not figure to get a save or even a hold in the short appearance. It might have been one of those moments where a pitcher knows he just needs to do some fine tuning and use the appearance to his advantage.

But when Isringhausen let go of that pitch even from my rightfield seats you could see his elbow go towards the visitors’ dugout, which it is not suppose to do, you knew something bad had happen to the Rays reliever. As the ball sail wide right of the pinch hitter Corey Patterson, most of the crowd were stunned that the ball went that far beyond and to the right of the glove of Rays catcher Michel Hernandez and the plate and did not notice the quickness that Isringhausen moved off the mound and motioned for the Rays medical staff to get there as soon as possible. But if you watched the video of him throwing, right after his right arm gets near the front of his body he seems to winch a bit in pain and then let the arm dangle next to his side while the Rays Manager Joe Maddon and the medical staff came out to the mound.

Rays medical trainer Paul Harker was out there first and did a primary examination of Isringhausen on the mound before quickly taking him out of the game for further examination. You can see in the video that his right elbow area was already getting reddened and looks to be puffing up a bit. Within seconds he knew he was hurt and called for immediate attention. I give the veteran credit here. Some pitcher might have tried to work out the kink and think it was not as serious as it lead on to be at the moment, but Isringhausen showed no hesitation to move off the pitching mound and get quick relief. A stunned Tropicana Field crowd stood on their feet and gasped as Isringhausen left the mound.

This is the same arm region that Isringhausen has his surgery on just months before and might have either re-injured that elbow, or he might have caused an additional new tear in the elbow region to further put his great comeback with the Rays to a sudden close. If the injury is anything like the one he suffered with the St. Louis Cardinals last season it might be the end of his tenure right now with the Rays. As a precaution, the Rays put Isringhausen immediately on the Disabled List, which is not a good sign of a slight injury or a strain.

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With his placement on the DL, the team bought out the contract of Winston Abreu from Triple-A Durham and he might make it to the Trop in time for the 1:38 pm game tomorrow. I have to say I was so interested and enthusiastic about the signing of Izzy this spring as a total “win-win” for the Rays. He was a talented closer who was coming off an injury and could be a great veteran presence on this young Bullpen.

Along with Troy Percival they amassed a huge chunk of saves and could have been a huge force come playoff time. But now with both of them shut down for awhile, the Rays might have to look elsewhere for a definite closing candidate for the next 99 games. But could this now also open an opportunity for the Rays to maybe find a viable reason to take a second look at Pedro Martinez when he throws his second time this week in the Dominican?

You do not want to ever think about someone finding a positive for an injury especially to a veteran like Isringhausen, and bringing up Abreu might be a great opportunity for him to make another impression on the Rays staff. He looked real good this spring when he posted a 4.26 ERA in his 6.1 innings of work. But it was his 5 strikeouts in that short stint in Spring Training that might have left an impression on the Rays.

Tony Dejak / AP

So he went down to Triple-A and compiled a 3-0 record with a 1.41 ERA in 23 appearances. He also 49 strikeouts in 32 total innings of work to go along with his 10 saves. He might not get an opportunity to close at this level early, but with his success at Triple-A you know Rays Manager Joe Maddon will seek him out if the match-ups deem it so during his time with the club. He should be on a plane sometime tonight or in the early am, and might be here in time for the 1:38 pm start to the last game of the series against the Washington Nationals.

Hopefully this is not the last time we see Isringhausen on the mound for the Rays. He is currently in the training room at Tropicana Field and will be reevaluated in the morning by the Rays staff and doctors. I has the same body shudder tonight as when I saw former Rays pitcher Tony Saunders break his arm twice on the mound at the Trop. Hopefully that is not the last pitch he will ever throw in professional baseball. Isringhausen has done so much for this game, and hopefully he can go out on his terms and not the terms of an injury.

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8 Comments

Hey Renegade! How ya doing?
Seriously, can we stop with the injuries? Glad to hear that Jason Bartlett will be back soon. I miss watching him play.
Hope that Izzy will be ok. Congrats to Chad and Jenny! Hope everyone is doing well.
Canuck

I would love for the injuries to stop, but it is just a weird part of the year.
Bartlett is doing his last rehab today down on Port Charlotte then pack for the 6-game road trip.
I think we might know more about Izzy by the end of the game tonight.
You can bet he is going for an MRI Monday morning after the swelling goes down on his arm.
It is great news for the Bradford clan. Another boy to teach the art of the submarine pitch to…….with dreams of the MLB maybe running in the family.

I hate to say it, but I am getting used to people going down right now.
Not trying to be funny, but the fact is that we are under constant watch for a key injury now.
The years always seems to be right on the cusp of changing for the good, and bam, someone goes down hard.
Bradfors id still on a rehab assignment, so he is near his family up in Alabama.

Tough luck for the Rays, not like you guys needed any more of it. It must be so frustrating because this team is so talented, and if it weren’t for all of the injuries, would probably be leading the AL East right now. But if you are in need of another relief pitcher, might I interest you in Jesse Crain? No, really, you can have him. For free.-Erinhttp://plunking-gomez.mlblogs.com

Erin,
I have been watching Crain’s stats for awhile.
He has to be the most snake bitten guy in the AL right now.
He get two great outs then something always happens and he loses either the game, or the inning.
I would not want to walk down a street with him with a piano moved hoisting a huge Steinway over our heads.

Jenn,
I know your team can relate to the closer role being set up based on match-ups and maybe just need at the time right now.
I was hoping Izzy would become the closer and take the guess work out of the Bullpen.
But now it is again just set up by maychups. J P Howell did a great job yesterday, but a 87 mph fastball is not going to scare anyone in the ninth inning if you have multiple hitters.

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